The document discusses patterns of illicit drug use in the United States. It finds that over 47% of Americans aged 12 or older have used an illicit drug in their lifetime, with marijuana being the most commonly used. It also notes a substantial rise in misuse of prescription drugs like pain relievers, stimulants, tranquilizers, and sedatives among college students between 1993 and 2005. The document classifies and describes different types of drugs like stimulants, depressants, opioids, hallucinogens, inhalants, and cannabinoids. It explains how drugs affect the brain's reward and pleasure centers, as well as factors influencing their effects.

1. Chapter 10
Drugs
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2. Who Uses?
Patterns of Illicit Drug Use
• Rates of illicit drug use vary by age, gender,
race and ethnicity, education, employment
status, and geographical region
• Among Americans aged 12 or older, more
than 47% report having used an illicit drug in
their lifetime
• The most commonly used drug is marijuana
• There is also a substantial misuse of
psychotherapeutics (prescription-type drugs)
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3. Who Uses?
Patterns of Illicit Drug Use
• The number of college students who abuse
prescription drugs increased dramatically
between 1993 and 2005
– Pain relievers (e.g., OxyContin, Vicodin,
Percocet): use increased by 343%
– Stimulants (e.g., Ritalin, Adderall): use increased
by 93%
– Tranquilizers (e.g., Xanax, Valium): use
increased by 450%
– Sedatives (e.g., Nembutal, Seconal): use
increased by 225%
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4. Illicit Drug Use in Past Month
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5. Illicit Drug Use by Age
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6. What Is a Drug?
• Drug: substance other than food that affects
the structure or function of the body through
its chemical action
– Psychoactive drugs change brain chemistry and
alter consciousness, perception, mood, thought
(intoxication)
• Drug of abuse: medical drug used for
nonmedical (recreational) purposes, or a
drug that has no medical uses
• Substance: drug of abuse, a medication, or
a toxin; the term is used interchangeably
with drug
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7. Types of Drugs
• Drugs are classified in several different
ways
• Legal drugs include:
– Medication prescribed by physicians
– Over-the-counter (OTC) medications
– Herbal remedies
• Pharmaceutical drugs are developed for
medical purposes, whether over-the-counter
or prescription
• Illicit drugs are unlawful to possess,
manufacture, sell, or use
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8. Sources of Pain Relievers
for Nonmedical Use
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9. Drug Misuse and Abuse
• Drug misuse: use of prescription drugs for
purposes other than those for which they
were prescribed or in greater amounts than
prescribed, or the use of nonprescription
drugs or chemicals for purposes other than
those intended by the manufacturer
• Drug abuse: use of a substance in amounts,
situations, or a manner such that it causes
problems, or greatly increases the risk of
problems, for the user or for others
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10. Drug Misuse and Abuse
• Substance use disorders is defined by the
DSM-5 as a number of cognitive, behavioral,
and physiological symptoms that persist
even as the individual experiences a number
of significant life-changing substance-related
problems
– DSM-5 does not separate substance use
disorders and dependence
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11. Drug Misuse and Abuse
• Many will continue to view substance use
problems in terms of drug abuse, addition,
dependence, withdrawal symptoms, and
tolerance
– Addiction is the chronic relapsing brain disease
characterized by compulsive drug seeking and
use, despite harmful consequences
– Tolerance is reduced sensitivity to the effects of
the drug
– Withdrawal symptoms are uncomfortable feelings
when drug use stops
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12. Routes of Administration
• Oral—most drugs are taken orally
• Injection
– Involves a hypodermic syringe to deliver drug into
the bloodstream by
• Intravenous injection
• Intramuscular injection
• Subcutaneous injection
• Inhalation: smoking or huffing
• Application to mucous membranes
• Application to skin
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14. Factors Influencing the
Effects of Drugs
• Characteristics of the drug
– Chemical properties of the drug and its actions
• Characteristics of the person
– Age
– Gender
– Body weight and mass
– Physical condition
– Mood
– Experience with the drug
– Expectations
• Characteristics of the situation
– Environmental experience
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15. Effects of Drugs on
the Brain
• Many addictive drugs act on neurons in
three brain structures:
– The ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the midbrain
– Nucleus accumbens
– Prefrontal cortex
• Neurons in these structures form a pathway
referred to as the pleasure and reward
circuit
• Addictive psychoactive drugs activate and
cause surge in levels of dopamine and
associated feelings of pleasure
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16. Effects of Drugs on
the Brain
• All or nearly all addictive drugs operate via
the pleasure and reward circuit
• Some also operate via additional
mechanisms, i.e., the opioids
– Similar structure to endorphins, which block pain
when the body undergoes stress
• Individuals trying to recover from addiction
must overcome:
– Altered brain chemistry
– Drug-related memories
– Impaired impulse control
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17. Pleasure and Reward
Circuit
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18. Drugs of Abuse
• Drugs of abuse are usually classified as
– Stimulants
– Depressants
– Opioids
– Hallucinogens
– Inhalants
– Cannabinoids
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19. Central Nervous System
Stimulants
• Drugs that speed up activity in the brain and
sympathetic nervous system
• Effects similar to the “fight-or-flight” reaction
• May stimulate movement, fidgeting, and
talking, and produce intense feelings of
euphoria and create a sense of well-being
• Examples:
– Cocaine
– Amphetamines
– MDMA (Ecstasy)
– Bath salts
– Caffeine
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20. Central Nervous System
Depressants
• Slow down activity in the brain and
sympathetic nervous system
• Can be deadly if misused, especially when
mixed with alcohol
• CNS depressants carry a high risk of
dependence
• Examples:
– Barbiturates and hypnotics
– Anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines)
– Rohypnol
– GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate)
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21. Opioids
• Natural and synthetic derivatives of opium
• Currently prescribed as pain relievers,
anesthetics, antidiarrheal agents, and cough
suppressants
• Produce feelings of pleasure and block the
sensation of pain
• Examples:
– Morphine
– Heroin
– Synthetic opioids (OxyContin, Vicodin, Demerol,
Dilaudid, Percocet, Percodan)
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22. Opioids
• With low doses opioid users experience:
– Euphoria
– Drowsiness
– Constriction of the pupils
– Slurred speech
– Slowed movement
– Impaired coordination, attention, and memory
• At high dosage users can experience
depressed respiration, loss of
consciousness, coma, and death
• Opioids have a high potential for dependence
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23. Hallucinogens
• Also known as psychedelics
• Alter perceptions and thinking in
characteristic ways
• Intensify and distort visual and auditory
perceptions and produce hallucinations
• Examples:
– LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)
– PCP (phencyclidine)
– Peyote
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24. Inhalants
• Breathable chemical vapors that alter
consciousness, producing a state that
resembles drunkenness
• Active ingredients are all powerful toxins and
carcinogens
• The most significant negative effect for
chronic users is widespread and long-lasting
brain damage
• Examples:
– Paint thinner, gasoline, glue, and spray-can
propellant
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25. Cannabinoids
• Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug
in the United States
– Derived from the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa
– Active ingredient is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC)
– Use produces mild euphoria, sedation, lethargy,
short-term memory impairment, increase in
appetite, distorted sensory perceptions, distorted
sense of time, impaired coordination, and an
increase in heart rate
• Researchers have found that THC has a
variety of effects on the brain, perhaps
accounting for some impairments in problem
solving and decision making
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26. Emerging Drugs of
Abuse
• Newest set of drugs being experimented
with include:
– “Krokodil” – synthetic form of heroin
– “N-Bomb” – synthetic hallucinogen more powerful
than LSD
– “Syrup”, “Purple Drank”, “Sizzurp”, and “Lean” –
prescription-strength cough syrup mixed with
soda
– “Devils Breath”—hypnotic effects; can be used to
take advantage of people
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30. Approaches to
the Drug Problem
• Supply reduction strategies:
– Interdiction: interception of drugs before they get
into the country
– Pressure on supplying countries to suppress
production and exportation
– Prevent domestic production and selling via law
enforcement
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31. Approaches to
the Drug Problem
• Demand reduction strategies:
– Incarceration for drug-related crimes
• Half the people in U.S. prisons meet the diagnostic
standards for substance use disorders
• Only 7–17% who need drug treatment receive it
– Prevention strategies
• Primary prevention: designed to reach and educate
entire population
• Secondary prevention: focus on subgroups that are
at greatest risk for use or abuse
• Tertiary prevention: target at-risk individuals rather
than groups
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32. Approaches to
the Drug Problem
• Strategies on college campuses include
environmental management
– Send clear messages that drug use not acceptable
– Change climate of drug tolerance on campus
– Engage parents
– Provide alternative activities
– Involve students in planning and prevention
• Implementation of harm-reduction strategies
– Provide containers for needle and syringe disposal
– Provide condoms
– Make naloxone (Narcan) available in case of opioid
overdoes
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33. Approaches to
the Drug Problem
• Demand reduction strategies:
– Drug treatment programs
• Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
• Treatment is more successful when the program
lasts at least three months
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34. Approaches to
the Drug Problem
• Harm reduction strategies:
– Focus on helping addicts reduce the harm
associated with drug use
• Needle exchange programs
• Drug substitute programs (ex: methadone instead
of heroin)
• Controlled availability
• Medicalization
• Decriminalization
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